Tishomingo Blues

"But you'll be here tomorrow."

"Yes sir, for the battle."

"And you know Arlen Novis will be coming out of the orchard over there with his boys. I can't say they're Dixie Mafia, that name doesn't mean anything to me. I do know they're thugs, they're vicious, and as soon as they wake up in the morning they'll be drinking again. By the time they cross this field they will have worked themselves up, they'll come with that Rebel yell like they're ready to kill. During battle reenactments they get into fistfights with Union soldiers all the time. They're warned beforehand, they still do it, 'cause they become out of control. I remember both at Franklin and at Corinth last year they met our line swinging rifle butts at us. My impression at those events, I was a captain with the Ninety-fifth Ohio, acting as an infantry officer for a change. Though I prefer cavalry. I was Stuart at Yellow Tavern when I lost my horse, a beautiful mare." John Rau paused to look for the point he was making. "You understand, Arlen and his fellas could come tomorrow with every intention of taking you out of the picture, for good."

De

John Rau took a moment before saying, "He'll still be around Monday."

Here was a chance to play Robert with him. Say something like, Oh, are you sure? Or, You sure about that? But in De

John Rau shook his head. "Don't report for tomorrow's muster."

"I know a person," De

John Rau said, "I have Loretta Novis. She'll tell it if my eyewitness testifies. But if he does, I don't need her, do I?"

De

John Rau said, "You know I can have you subpoenaed and put on the stand under oath."

De

Thinking he was smart. But John Rau had the last word.

He said, "You take part tomorrow, I don't want to see you wearing those chevrons, private."

They had it worked out that Arlen would come up from one end of the tent street and Fish and Newton would approach from the other end. He'd picked Newton 'cause he was the one had sassed this Robert when he was with the girl showing some of her tit, and would have gone after him he didn't have a goddamn sword in his hand. Newton 'd worked the wad around in his mouth, messy as hell, beard all stained, and said he would settle with the nigger, don't worry.

They'd meet at General Grant's tent and see what was doing. See if they could stick a gun in the man's mouth, this Caesar German-o, and tell him to go on home. It gave Arlen a chance to stop and see his wife. If he saw any green tomatoes it'd mean she never made the goddamn pie she burned.

The first thing he said to her was, "Jesus Christ, is that a roach on the table?"

Loretta looked over from her sling chair. "It looks like a roach to me. Doesn't it look like one to you?"

"I know what it is."

"Then what're you asking me for?"

"What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"I told you, don't ever bring none from home. Have these women sniffing the air, saying things about you."

"They're so scared of you they don't come near me. I wasn't even invited to the tea. I wouldn't have gone, but they could've asked."

Arlen said, "You disobeyed me."

"I didn't bring the pot, sweetheart. A soldier boy came by, a Yankee, and left it for me." "Who was it?"

"I don't want to get you upset."

"I'm asking you who it was."

"And I'm not telling, so go fuck yourself."

This was not the girl used to write sweet letters to him in the joint. They changed on you, all of 'em. Set 'em up with a nice house and a car and turned into alligators.

"You're trying to get me to smack you," Arlen said, "so you can, scream and get people looking out their tents. I'll ask you again we get home, you can scream all you want."

Now she was giving him her sleepy-eyed reefer grin, like she knew something about him he didn't. She did it all the time and it liked to drive him crazy.

Arlen said to her as he always did, hoping for an answer but never getting one, "What is wrong with you?"

An hour or so before this, in General Grant's camp, Germano had come out of his tent sweating in his underwear, growling, telling Hector and Tonto, "That's it, fuck it. I can't sleep in there, I'm going back to the hotel."

There was no way to argue with him if that's what he wanted to do. Hector said, "Of course," and said he would get Groove and Cedric to take him. It didn't matter to Germano who drove him, but it did to Hector; he wanted to be here if the Confederates came to visit.

Germano asked if Robert was sleeping. Hector said no, but he was around someplace. Germano said, "Tell him I've gone back."

When they had left, Hector said to Tonto, "There was no way to stop him. Now, what if he finds Robert in bed with his missus?"

Tonto took time to think about it, but all he said was, "I don't know. I guess we have to wait to find out."

They were sitting by the table in front of Germano's tent now, the lantern hanging above them from the awning. Both Hector and Tonto, when they thought of Jerry or would mention him, it was always as Germano. They couldn't understand why Robert allowed him to be the boss. They would protect the man's life, not having much respect for him, but because Robert would say to do it, okay? You mind? Not the way Germano the hard-on said to do something. Robert made you feel close to him. "Working for Robert," Hector said, "was like being in the fucking movies." Robert had imagination. Go on down to Mississippi and take over a deal from the Dixie Mafia. What? First get you some Civil War uniforms. What? And Civil War guns. Yeah? And you get to play war like when you were kids. Yeah? No kidding.

Sitting in the lantern light, Hector said, "He could have been a killer of bulls, a good one with his own style. But I believe he would have someone else plant the sticks.

"You know why? Because he likes to have people with him who know what they're doing. Planting the sticks looks difficult, but requires far less nerve than to go over the horns with the sword. I believe he can be anything he wants that catches his eye."

"Don't you know what he wants to do?" Tonto said. "He wants to dive off that ladder."

"He told you that?"

"No, but he would like to."

"How do you know?"

"See the way he watches that quiet guy dive off the ladder, that De

"You believe he wants to," Hector said, "but you don't know it."

Tonto said, "No, not the same way I know that guy down the street, the Confederate guy, is coming here. But the feeling I have about Robert is that I know it."

"From the other way also," Hector said, "two of them coming."

Jim Rein, the Fish, saw the two sitting in the lantern light. The one behind the table had the pigtail in his hair. The one at this end of the table had the banda

Newton said, "Ain't those two niggers?"

Jim Rein said, "I think they's Mexicans."

Newton said, "What's the difference? They look like smokes to me."